SHERWOOD By Meagan Spooner

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SHERWOOD By Meagan SpoonerSherwood by Meagan Spooner
Published by HarperTeen on 3/19/19
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 496
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

ReviewedbyDani

Robin of Locksley is dead.

Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on, but the people of Locksley town, persecuted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, need a protector. And the dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s right hand, wishes to step into Robin’s shoes as Lord of Locksley and Marian’s fiancé.

Who is there to stop them?

Marian never meant to tread in Robin’s footsteps—never intended to stand as a beacon of hope to those awaiting his triumphant return. But with a sweep of his green cloak and the flash of her sword, Marian makes the choice to become her own hero: Robin Hood.

Short and Sweet

After the death of her betrothed Robin, Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on. The people in Locksley are doomed to live in poverty or hang if they don’t do what the Sheriff of Nottingham requires. Marian is also faced with the fact that Guy of Gisborne now wants her hand in marriage. Marian isn’t sure what to do, because everything around her seems to be falling apart but when Marian puts on Robin’s green cloak and takes his sword and bow it isn’t what she was expecting at all especially when people mistake her for Robin. Now Marian disguised as Robin will be the hero that the people of Nottingham need and give them hope.

Characters

Marian (Robin Hood): Marian is our main character and she’s been through a lot, from losing her love Robin, to being asked to marry Guy of Gisborne not soon after, and seeing the people of Nottingham suffer due to the Sheriff. Marian is a strong character despite everything that has happened and she uses this strength to become Robin Hood and become the peoples champion because she thinks this is what her Robin would  want. I do think that Marian is skilled with the Bow but not so much one on one combat, she also risks a lot by going out as Robin because he is seen as being a vigilante and is breaking the law so if she’s ever caught that would be the end for her. Marian is also a caring character and will try to do what is right and fight for what is right.

Guy of Gisborne: Sir Guy is Marians love interest in this book, he is also trying to become the new Lord of Locksley. Sir Guy does what he thinks and right which is following the law and he follows the sheriffs orders. I liked Sir Guy mainly because he’s so guarded that you want to dislike him but once you peel back the layers you realize he isn’t so bad.

Elena: Elena is Marian’s maid and throughout the book we learn that Elena has been hiding a few secrets from Marian but the further we read Elena and Marians friendship develops into obviously more of a friendship instead of just a lady and her maid. Elena is also shown to be very loyal to those she loves.

Merry Men: There are three merry men and I decided to put them all in this category instead of giving them their own section because their isn’t much to say about them. The merry men consist of Will (Elena’s brother), John, and Alan (Elena’s fiancé). These three are outlaws that Marian meets in the forest and they become loyal to Robin and his cause to help the people of Nottingham.

Romance

Marian and Robin: So we don’t really know what Marian and Robin’s relationship is like because Robin has already passed, but we do get short flashbacks from his point of view. From these flashbacks it seems as though Robin would allow Marian to truly be herself and didn’t confine her to feeling as if she must do certain things like most women were expected to do during that time. Robin and Marian met as children and as they grew their feelings for each other have grown and developed and they can be themselves around each other such as when these two learn to shoot using a bowl and how to sword fight.

Marian and Sir Guy: There’s not a lot of romance between these two they have a very complicated relationship. Marian spends a lot of her time trying to avoid Sir Guy while he likes to seek her out. Marian doesn’t like Sir Guy and she definitely feels like he’s trying to take Locksley when it in her mind is still Robin’s.

Quotes

~ “But one thing you have never been, my dear, is weak.”

~ “Then this time, we’ll fight,” she said. “One more mission. Robin Hood’s last ride.”

My Thoughts

~ I liked the short flashbacks that gave us a bit of insight into Robin’s life and what he was like.

~ I think Marian had a great support system especially her father who loved her and cared about her wellbeing and put that above anything else.

~ Marian’s stable master Much, was a great character I liked how he knew what was going on with Marian as Robin Hood but he didn’t let her know that he knew but he did give her help about how to be more carful.

~ I felt that Marian went into most situations as Robin without really having a plan which put her at risk every time which was the one thing I didn’t like.

~ I will say that when Marian was staying at Nottingham thats when most of the plans to help the people took place and she got help from her merry men of course.

~ For me I thought that most of my interest was held 60% of the way into the book I think a lot more was happening at that point.

~ I thought that this was a great retelling of Robin Hood and I liked that Marian was a strong character and her strength wasn’t weekend just because she was a girl. It was also shown that the men took orders from Robin more easily than if the orders were to have come from Marian.

~ The ending had a huge twist and I didn’t see it coming but I loved it and it ended perfectly.

Overall

In the end I throughly enjoyed Sherwood. Following Marian on her journey as Robin Hood and learning to become a hero and giving people hope was great. I loved the characters they’re really what makes the book shine. Sherwood is a great book all around from the plot to the characters I do think that it took me a while to really get into it but once I did I couldn’t put it down.

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HUNTED By Meagan Spooner

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

HUNTED By Meagan SpoonerHunted by Meagan Spooner
Published by HarperTeen on 3/14/17
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

ReviewedbyDani

Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones--and in her blood. 

Though Yeva grew up with the city's highest aristocrats, far from her father's old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who's ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there's no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas...or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva's father's misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he'd been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters' protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory--a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva's only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Short and Sweet

Yeva lives in the city with her two sisters and father, but when her father makes a risky business decision that goes wrong the family is forced to move to her father’s lodge in the forest. Her father used to be a hunter and takes it up again once they arrive at the lodge, but he starts to lose his mind and goes missing in the woods. Yeva goes after him and the beast that he mentioned before he went missing.

Characters

Yeva (Beauty): Yeva is family oriented and she loves them a lot and she’s willing to make sacrifices that she thinks will help her family. Yeva is graceful and intelligent, she has a love for nature and hunting.

Beast: We get to read from the beast’s POV and we see that he’s conflicted with fighting his animal side and human side.

Romance

Yeva and Solmir: He was one of Yeva’s suitors he was rich and willing to help her family. He and Yeva built a friendship over time and Yeva tries to find feelings for him, so that she might take him up on his offer of marriage. When Yeva goes looking for her father she makes a deal with Solmir that if he looks out for her sisters when she comes back she’ll marry him.

Yeva and Beast: This was a slow building relationship. Yeva was being held captive by the Beast and their interactions were tense at first, but they soon began to understand each other and show more compassion.

Quotes

“She wept because she did not know what she wanted, and because she wanted everything.”

My Thoughts

~ Let me be completely honest, I’ve never watched Beauty and the Beast so going into this book I didn’t know much about the original story.

~ I think the book started off slow but once I got to the point where Yeva and her family moved to the lodge things started to pick up for me.

~ Yeva was always looking for something more in her life but whenever she thought about what that something was she didn’t know. The Beast was also the same way and that was what led him to being cursed.

~ I liked seeing the relationship between Beauty and the Beast develop it was slow and it took time. Beauty’s presence helped Beast regain control of his human side.

~ Beauty was intelligent and knew that the Beast couldn’t tell her about the curse so she did some inquiring of her own around his castle whenever she had the chance.

~ I loved the setting, it was somewhere in Russia and we get to go through the seasons and it felt like I was there with the characters.

Overall

The writing was beautiful and as soon as I got into the book I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and their different personalities and getting to see Yeva grow. This was a great introduction to Beauty and the Beast for me, and I recommend it!

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